Iain Duncan Smith has resigned

thatbags, Where did I say they didn't?

daphnedill, a small point: left-wing Brexiters exist. You can't paint them all with the same brush.

Here is another article, this one by Iain Dale and in Conservative Home. He says the Damascus moment IDS had was real. It's a convincing article, especially when held against what's coming from some of the left: that Tories are all liars and don't have a decent cell in their bodies. One doesn't have to be a Tory to see this. I know that because I'm not a Tory. But I'm not a closed minded, slandering leftie either.

One thing is certain, what with the EU ref on the not too distant horizon, the shadow of Boris hovering over Prime-Minister-ship, and IDS resigning apparently because of principles people never thought he had, politics in the UK has become interesting again.

What I find such a breath of fresh air is that what we have been banging on for more than 5 years about the gross inequality, poverty and unfairness is at last recognised by strangely the very person who has assisted in implementing the policies.

The shadow chancellor was mocked in Parliament last week by the Tories when he almost begged that the Chancellor look again at what he was doing to the disabled. Whose eating their words now. What a nasty lot they are.

Hmmmm! Mark Wallace works for ConservativeHome and used to work for the Tax Payers' Alliance, both right-wing Eurosceptic organisations. I'm sure IDS's resignation does make sense to them. I wonder how much IDS will get into bed with them in the future.

I don't believe his 'One Nation Tory' or social justice stance for one minute. He reminds me of the Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials.

as PRINTMISS comments on a different thread, we have all seen so many governments come and go, do good things, do wrong things, do stupid things, we should be used to it by now.No goverment does all good things, none do all bad things.No politicians are 'evil'.
IDS has got his eye on the main chance, wants to support Brexit and possibly come back to a good position when Cameron steps down.

Mark Wallace in the Guardian arguing that IDS's resignation makes sense.

michaelrosenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/imagine-if-6-labour-ministers-voted.html

Don't trust him at all, he's up to something!

Another nail in the coffin for George Osborne hopefully. Makes you wonder if this is really what it's all about, keeping GO out of number 10.

Did you suggest he ought to resign as an MP as well?

I am looking forward to the publishing of the information about people dying from having their benefits cut. That sounds wrong, but you know what I mean.

Yes, I've just sent an e-mail wishing Iain Duncan Smith well and said he did the right thing. These cuts have gone way, way too far with so many people committing suicide as they couldn't live on the cuts. People having to live on food banks is bad enough, but resorting to taking from the disabled is way below the line, totally despicable.

It has never been a one nation party, stupid man

IDS says that the Tory party is in danger of not being a one-nation party.

Where has he been hiding? He must have got that from the Social Policy group.

I quite agree with daphnedill, as his letter emphasies that there must be something else he is concerned about.
Although, no matter who had won the previous election, it would have been a difficult time for any party. Considering how Greece and Spain have ending up, and this year the unemployment in France has just fallen from its peak last year.

They keep saying it because they are accomplished liars, Annie. They've had lots of practice.

Why do they keep saying they care for the disabled , unemployed , homeless etc, what is the point of building houses to sell or giving £1,000 a year to people who can save £77 a week for these poor people . How can anyone say in all honesty it was a good budget, unless they mean it was a good budget for me sod the poor

We can but hope and pray spabby

I don't believe IDS felt it was a cut to far and the reports do vary. On the news last night a gov't spokesman said his dept had been involved with all the cuts and fully aware and supportive, & they must have been, or IDS would have resigned 5 yrs ago, but all IDS has said is 'the cuts are for the benefit of the disabled people', which I totally don't agree with. But I read somewhere that IDS was cross with osbourne for announcing cuts on the same day as announcing tax breaks for the rich, cos it made them look like the greedy sods they are, and people were saying 'taking walking sticks from the poor to give ferrari's to the rich,' and that's exactly what they planned.
I don't think this gov't can last the full term, or I sincerely hope not, especially the way they've treated the NHS, & made loads of food banks and an investigation from the United Nations into their treatment of the poor.

"A secure, suitable home is fundamental to the life chances of the poorest.

Without a stable
base adults struggle to maintain employment. In damp, dangerous conditions parents cannot
provide the right environment for their children to thrive and develop. Those who lack any
home can find it impossible to get back on their feet.
For any Government serious about tackling poverty in our country, a credible housing strategy
must therefore incorporate a social justice strategy. And while we welcome the Prime Minister’s
recent commitment to regenerate 100 of the most dysfunctional housing estates in the UK, we
argue in this report that the Government’s current response needs to go further in light of the
severe difficulties facing low-income families."

First two paragraphs of their latest housing policy document.
I think I can see the flaws in that being attached to IDS' name, the man who brought in four policies to make people homeless.
Perhaps they are just doing it to justify some work for themselves.

The Centre for Social Justice is anything but.
It sounds good, but their policies are completely against social justice. It's all about saving money for the government, just like all his votes in the house.

Peter Oborne in the DM yesterday was scathing about Osbourne.
He said: if you were to go Tiger shooting with him you would end up with a belly full of lead shot or a cut throat!

I cannot trust him, he made a documentary on getting people back to work, he chose my home town of Merthyr which had gone through the loss of three high employers , the coal mines, hoovers and a third factory - and I can't recall it's name sorry. He explained that all the unemployed had to do was get on the train or bus to Cardiff to seek work, no matter all the valleys there run to Cardiff, so all the unemployed in the Merthyr valley and the Rhondda valleys just had to pop down to Cardiff and problem solved, there were twenty jobs in Merthyr job centre when he made that documentary

I can't make my mind up Annie But it is worrying that he sounds very reasonable. Can he really claim to have no ambition and to care about all the people?

Why argue over someone's name. Good manners says that you call someone what they want to be called. I have a name that can be shortened and I use the shortened version but there were always some, when I was working, who shortened it further. Interestingly they were usually in "marketing" and I think it was meant to make me feel special but it really, really didn't so I would always explain that I preferred to be called what I had given them as my name. Surely it is really rather arrogant to choose another name for someone?

As for IDS, personally I do not doubt his motivation although I worry about the methods, but I do doubt the Chancellor's sense of morality. It's a harsh thing to say but I have often wondered if he - GO - has a borderline personality disorder. Sorry - that does sound extreme but it has crossed my mind.